Variety has posted an interesting article on how the studios are being cautious about spending money for movies in 2010 and 2011. Here’s a surprising bit:

Then there is comeback kid Mickey Rourke, who is poised to follow his Golden Globe-winning performance in “The Wrestler” with an offer to play the main villain in “Iron Man 2” â€” but at a lowball opening offer of $250,000 from Marvel; Marvel’s tactics have already prompted Samuel L. Jackson to swear off playing Nick Fury because of a similarly low offer.

$250,000 sounds pretty darn good to you and us, but when you think that Iron Man earned $582 million at the worldwide box office, plus DVD sales, then something doesn’t seem right. Let’s hope Mr. Rourke ended up getting a much better deal.